The Golden Lioness
by Stevie Jazz
Summary: As Leontyne Aurelius matured, she became the golden lioness that she had read about countless times throughout her childhood; strong, fierce, and just. Though she had lost her mother at an early age, she was not broken. She did not need fixing. She did not need a doctor. But that never meant that one didn't need her. (Doctors 9-12/OC)
1. Chapter 1

"_Alright, little lion, which story do you want to hear tonight?" A man wearing a smile addressed a little girl playing with her dolls._

_A dramatic pout tugged on her full lips as she looked to her father with wide eyes, "Do I have to go to bed right now?"_

_A smile pulled on the man's lips as he replied, "Yes, you do. You've got school in the morning. Now, put Queen Quinby and Princess Poppy to bed and pick out a story."_

_The girl let out a long sigh that sounded far too burdened for the situation at hand. She dragged her feet against the carpet as she approached the large doll house resting in the corner. Taking her time, she tucked her dolls into their respective beds before making her way to her own. She threw her thick duvet back with gusto and burrowed into her plush pillows._

_With a chuckle on his lips, her father approached his little drama queen and tucked her into her blankets._

"_Now, what do you want to hear, little lion?" The man said with great affection as he tucked an aurulent lock of her unruly mane behind her ear._

"_Hm," she pretended to ponder as her face twisted up into an expression of deep thought, "The Golden Lioness!"_

_A sigh left her father as he knew she'd choose this story. Said stood vigil upon her bed side table, ready to be read to her when her bedtime came._

"_I read this story to you a hundred times," the man muttered, opening it's binding to reach the first page._

"_So read it a hundred more!" The little girl exclaimed, her hazel eyes shined so brightly her father could swear they were golden._

"_Alright, alright," he muttered. "Ready?" The girl nodded. "All cozy?" She nodded again, further burrowing into her bed and cuddling a stuffed lion into her chest further to prove her point. "You don't need any water or need to use the restroom, do you?"_

"_Dad!"_

_With a chuckle he calmed his daughter, "Fierce in the golden lioness…"_

"**Fierce is the golden lioness. With wit quicker than the cheetah and strength more powerful than the tiger, the lioness shows just who the real ruler of the jungle is."**

A bronzed hand reached to trace the aged words with a delicate touch.

"You know," an almost raspy alto left the sun kissed woman. "As a kid I held onto every word of this story."

"And now?" A man of identical features inquired, sitting next to her upon a small bed with yellow sheets.

"Now I wonder why a story would call a lion the ruler of the jungle when they aren't found in the jungle."

With a deep chuckle, the man with salt and pepper hair pushed a golden curl behind her shoulder and rubbed her back affectionately. "Now that says everything about the daughter I raised, realistic and far too literal for her own good.

A small grin pulled on her lips, "I think you did a pretty okay job," she nudged her father. "All things considered."

His expression faltered momentarily before his eyes drifted to the lone picture frame resting upon her desk.

With bright golden eyes and a stunning white smile, anyone could gather that the woman in the picture was as happy and satisfied as could be.

The man's lips shifted into a nostalgic upturn, "Your mother would be so proud of you and all that you've accomplished."

A carefree laugh left the girls mouth, "I'm just graduating high school, Dad, not winning the Nobel peace prize." The girl rose from her spot and crossed her childhood bedroom to her bookshelf. She placed the storybook in its place and turned to her father. "Today isn't the end of anything. It's just the beginning."

"You're so wise beyond your years, little lion."

The girl's brows furrowed in an instant; a fire began to brew behind her feline-like eyes at the pet-name. "I'm eighteen, Dad. I'm far too old to go by that silly little name anymore."

A sad look crossed his eyes, "My, how you've grown, Leontyne."

A moment of silence passed between the father and daughter as they simply smiled at one another, accepting the fact that like she said, today was the beginning of something, something far bigger, far greater than she ever could have imagined.

Today, she would meet the Doctor.


	2. Chapter 2

She stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Almost every feature of hers could be attributed to her mother's genes; except for her olive skin tone- that could be attributed to her father's Greek heritage.

Her eyes drifted to the picture of her mother, contemplating her father's words from earlier.

_Would she be proud of what I've become? Of what I will become?_

In her heart of hearts, she knew she had the answer to those questions.

Yes, she would be so unbelievably proud of her daughter for she was a happy, well-adjusted young adult just steps away from the real world. She may not have any clue where life would take her, but she knew how to work hard and had a support system of loving family and friends to back her up the whole way.

With a sure grin, Leo pulled her graduation cap back on her head, re-zipped the crimson gown over her white dress, and pulled all of her commencement hoods and cords on once again for the pictures with her family. Once she got those out of the way, she'd be able to enjoy her graduation barbeque without a car in the world.

Sliding on her wedges, a choice she consciously made for the sake of height and comfort, the recent high school graduate walked out her door.

"It's you!"

"Oh, yes!"

"You're naked."

"Oh, yes."

The voices she heard were unfamiliar to her.

Even worse, her _surroundings _were unfamiliar to her.

Though, the part she paid most attention to was the fact that said surroundings were crashing; into what or to where, she know not.

She turned back to her door to find it missing.

Panic began to rise in her blood; her throat began to constrict with fear.

Her hands reached out to grope the wall, trying to find some sort of flaw in its surface to hint that a door lay underneath.

Suddenly, the room stopped moving; obviously the crash never came.

Slightly traumatized and severely confused, Leo pressed her back to the wall and slid to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and bent her head over, and began to take deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself.

"Leo?" An accent of a British nature, Leo assumed, caused her to freeze.

_How does she know my name?_

"What are you doing on the floor there? How long have you been here? Do you have any idea what's going on?" The same voice persisted, and grew closer with each sentence. Suddenly, Leo was yanked up from the floor by a red-head who was looking at her with a plea for help.

With wide eyes, Leo stammered, "Who are yo-"

"Leo Lion!" Another European accent called, though this time, the worry that filled the woman's voice was completely void, and instead replaced by sheer joy and excitement. The man was now prancing towards Leo- his wild chocolate hair seemed to _bounce_, Leo noticed- before he wrapped his arms around her, constricting her own to her side, before putting her down and planting a sloppy kiss on her lips.

Her hazel eyes were larger than the moon by this point. With her greatest effort of strength exemplified in her eighteen years, she pushed him off of hear with a squeal.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked throwing her hands up in defense.

A broken look filled the man's, albeit beautiful, brown eyes and a pout tugged on his thin lips. "Leont-"

"No!" she called, backing away and putting more distance between herself and the two strangers before her. "How the hell do you know my name? And how did I get here? What do you want with me?"

The two nameless faces looked to Leo like she were the one who was an insane kidnapper.

"Leo," the woman reached for her but she backed away quickly, causing the red-head to raise her arms in surrender. "You know us? Don't you?" The furrowed brow Leo provided them with was answer enough. "The Doctor. You don't know him?"

"Who?"

With that one word, both of the faces that stared at Leo fell, deep frowns now painting their features.

"Do-" the red-head turned to the man on her right, looking for what to do.

With a firm shake of his head, he silenced her mid-word. "Not now." His stoic expression shook Leo to her core. "I've got some planets to save." He turned on a dime and jogged back down the hall, away from Leo and the red-head.

"Leo, I-" the woman was at a loss for words, something she never was. "I don't know what to tell you hear. I know you, you know me- well future you does, an-"

"Future me?" Leo deadpanned.

With one look at Leo's skeptical look, the red-head became defensive, "Oi! Don't look at me like that Leontyne! I'm not crazy." Leo's expression only strengthened. "I'm not! Look, it sounds insane! I know! But this, where you are, it's the TARDIS, and it can travel through time and space and- Oi! Stop it! Stop looking at me like that!"

Leo had now assessed that the woman most likely wasn't a threat, and almost found her sass amusing, "Tell you what, I'll play along. You say you know me."

"Yeah," the fiery woman replied.

"Are we friends?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, tell me something only a friend would know about me. Not something you can learn on the internet or anything. Just a simple fact that I would only share with a friend." Leo crossed her arms over her chest and rested on one hip, looking over at the woman with a challenging expression. "Well," she said after a pregnant pause, "I'm waiting."

"I don't want it to bring up bad memories for you or anything."

Her feline eyes narrowed, "I'll get over it."

"The last thing you ever said to your mum was that you hated her." Leo's eyes widened in shock as the woman continued, "It was a stupid fight about her not buying some doll you wanted and you over-reacted like you always do-" Leo pursed her lips at this, "And when she went out that night to surprise you by buying it, she was hit by a drunk driver and killed instantly."

Some time passed before Leo whispered, "Who are you?"

"Donna," the woman said with a shrug.

"Wh-" she cleared her throat, "How did I get here?"

"I don't know. I don't even think the Doctor knows, and alien boy seems to know everything!"

"Alien boy?"

"Uh," a look of trepidation appeared on Donna's face. "You should talk to the Doctor about all this. Later that is. Right now, the world's kind of in danger." Turning on a dime, just like her counterpart, Donna ran down the hall, away from Leo.

After a moment of confusion, Leo chased after her, thankful she wore wedges instead of heels, but sorry she didn't wear flats. "Wait!" she called.

The hallway, which was longer than it originally appeared, Leo noticed, opened up into a large round room with strange circular lights all along its domed walls. In the center of the room was a large console with strange levers and buttons and switches that she could only assume controlled this 'TARDIS'. Large coral like structures were situated at the outside edge of the room and looked to be a similar bronze color as the rest of the room.

"What is that?" Donna asked the moody man who kissed her as he sat on the floor, tinkering with some objects.

"It's our only hope. A Z-neutrino biological inversion catalyzer." The man responded, not really paying any attention to her and surely ignoring the woman he called 'Leo Lion'.

"Yeah, Earth girl, remember?" Donna snapped.

"Davros said he built those Daleks out of himself. His genetic code runs through the entire race. If I can use this to lock the Crucible's transmission onto Davros himself."

"It destroys the Daleks?"

"Biggest backfire in history."

"Alright," Leo decided to interrupt their little exchange. "What the hell is going on? Daleks? What on earth are those?"

With a dramatic sigh the man's eyes cut to her with a look of annoyance, "Not now. You don't know anything yet so just sit there and look pretty."

Leo automatically took offense, "I get this is a high pressure situation, whatever's going on, but you have no right to be rude."

Donna looked to Leo with a smirk of approval.

"Not now," He told her. "You," he turned to Donna. "I've got to stop Davros. Stay here," he turned to Leo, a conflicted look on his face.

"What?" Leo asked, starting to feel uneasy under his gaze.

He shook his head to himself before looking to her once again, "Just- just stay here. Don't leave under any circumstances. It's not safe out there."

She had no real reason to listen to him. She didn't know him, she certainly didn't trust him, but the pleading look in his eye made her want to comply, if only this once.

She took a seat on the stairs behind her and nodded, signaling her acceptance.

He returned the nod before looking to Donna and picking up the catalyzer. He nodded to his companion and walked to a set of doors that Leo could only assume led to the outside world. With a giant inhale, he ran out of the room with Donna following not to long after.

A deep sigh left Leo as she relaxed against the stairs. "What is happening to me?"

A gentle vibration, a hum almost, traveled from the room to her very soul. It was strange-foreign even- but provided her with a blanket of warmth and calm.

Suddenly the doors opened to reveal a man with blue eyes and a dimple in his chin. His eyes instantly landed on Leo, and a very sensual smirk pulled on his lips, "Hey, kitten." He said before running past her and grabbing two large gun-like weapons. "Be right back!"

She noticed two things in that moment: First, he too was American. Second, he was very attractive. Insanely attractive. The type of man you needed to lock your daughters up from.

Her eyes ran over the whole of the console room a total of twenty times before the door was pulled open once again.

"In! In! In! In!" It was the man who kissed her, but she noticed that he was now wearing a different suit.

"Sarah Jane! Rose! Jackie! Jack! Mickey!" His voice rang through the air, though Leo could see it wasn't the man holding the door open who said it.

_Twins_.

She surmised as a crowd of people ran into the room.

Her eyes widened at the sudden influx of passengers, and remained that way as the second twin ran to the center console and flipped some switched and pulled some levers before the room began to move with a jerk.

"And off we go." He called.

They all seemed to ignore her, the issue they were dealing with was a much more pressing issue than exchanging pleasantries with the odd blonde girl in her cap and gown sitting on the stairs. It wasn't until the second twin began bark off orders that she was finally acknowledged.

He had been pointing out random levers to the many different companions, some of which Leo could barely catch their names, before he came to an older blonde woman standing in front of her, "No, Jackie. No, no. Not you. Don't touch anything. Go sit by Leo."

"Thinks he's so great, doesn't he?" the woman asked Leo, taking a seat on the stairs as if she too knew the girl.

"Uh huh," Leo offered, not sure what to do. As the room began to move, both she and the woman beside her grabbed onto the railings, attempting to hold on for the ride.

Unsure of what's going on, Leo feels the room stop shaking and everyone erupted into cheers and began hugging one another.

By this point, Leo had have enough of being in the dark.

"Okay," she started, standing from her spot and towering over the group of people that were now silently staring at her. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Kitten-" the beautiful man from before began before being cut off by a fierce look the second twin gave him.

Realizing he was the one in charge, her hands went to her hips as she looked him in the eye, waiting. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

"We just saved the world," he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I figured that with your little cheering routine. What I want to know is where the hell I am, how the hell I got here, and who the hell you all are."

All looked to the girl with expressions of confusion, all except Donna and the twins who shared deep looks of sadness.

"You're in the TARDIS-" the second twin began.

"And what is that?" she snapped.

"Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

A girl with dark skin and large dark eyes offered, "It's like a space ship and time machine in one."

"Except it's not, you see-" before he could go off on a tangent correcting the girl, he realized that young Leo wouldn't really care. "Okay, fine. It's like my space ship time machine." He grumbled.

"How did I get here?" She yelped.

"I don't know." Her eyes narrowed as she looked for any ounce of dishonesty before nodding in acceptance.

"Then who are you all?"

A blonde woman not much older than Leo stepped forward, "Well, he's the Doctor and I'm Rose." She began pointing out individual faces and adding names to each one. When she reached the Doctor's twin she hesitated. "And he's…uh…he's-"

"He's the Doctor's biological metacrises." Donna said, simply.

Leo felt as though they were speaking another language, "What?"

The Doctor waved off her question, "You'll learn it all one day. Now," he turned to speak to the others.

"No! I'm not done!" Leo cut him off and walked to stand face-to-face with him. "Who are you all to _me_?"

"Your friends," Martha said with a genuine smile.

"Why did he kiss me?" Leo pointed to the Doctor's metacrises.

"He was elated to see you," The Doctor deadpanned and attempted to change the subject, but was once again cut off by Leo.

"How do you all know me? I have never seen a single one of you before in my life! I suddenly show up here and you all seem to know me and I'm utterly clueless! I was getting ready for my graduation party-"

"Explains the cap and gown," Jack muttered to Sarah Jane.

"And tried to go downstairs but ended up here!" She ranted. With deep breathes, she calmed herself before continuing, "I understand you don't know how I got here. Fine, I can accept that for now. But what I need to know is how you all know me?"

The Doctor's face scrunched up and he scratched the back of his neck in thought, "Well, ah, it's all a bit timey-wimey," he trailed off.

With a blank face, Leo grunted, "What?"

"Our time lines intersect quite often, but never linearly, as they should. You tend to hop around my time line with no control whatsoever. These people here, they've been my traveling companions in the past, as have you."

"Wait, so I just hop around in your life?" The Doctor nodded. "What makes you so damn important?"

Jackie let out an unladylike snort, receiving a glare from the Doctor.

"I don't know," he reiterated. "All I know is that you were pulled into this universe from your ow-"

"What do you mean 'pulled into this universe'?" Her eyes narrowed as she looked up into the Doctor's eyes.

"There are an infinite number of parallel universes out there. All of which, I do not exist. The only difference between my world and your world was me, and now you too."

"What about my family?" Leo raged instantaneously.

The Doctor's eyes softened and he did something Leo wasn't expecting; he pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Leontyne, I'm so unbelievably sorry."

Only her father and close friends knew that her anger was almost always a cover for sadness, and as the Doctor's long arms tightened around her waist, Leo realized that he too knew this trick. Unwilling to let these strangers- her _friends_- see her cry, she buried her head into his shoulder and quietly sobbed into his coat. The man pulled her cap off and threw it off to god knows where before stroking her hair.

All of their companions looked anywhere but at them, feeling a bit intrusive to this private moment.

As her tears began to run dry, Leo quickly pushed away just enough to look him in the eye and ask, "What kind of name is the Doctor?"


	3. Chapter 3

Leo sat once again upon the stairs in the console room, emotionally drained.

She graduated today, but she never expected that upon her graduation, she'd lose her loved ones with an opening of a door. Her heart ached as the realization that she was now on her own dawned on her.

Her eyes remained on her red toenails, not bothering to look up as the Doctor entered the TARDIS and solemnly went to the console and began to twist knobs and turn levers, sending them only god knows where.

Leo didn't quite understand what was happening, but with each companion's farewell, she learned a little more about the Doctor. Rose was in love with him while Jackie, her mother, only had occasional moments of fondness for the man. Martha's time with the Doctor inspired her to become a kickass doctor herself as she worked for UNIT, the unified intelligence taskforce. Jack, well, Leo knew right away that Jack was a flirt, and he obviously had a thing for the Doctor as well- and for herself, and Rose, and just about anything that breathed.

"How do I jump through time?" Leo muttered, breaking the silence.

Leaning against a coral column with his hands shoved in his pockets, the Doctor answered, "You'll feel a bit faint, maybe have a temporary headache, and your vision will blur. Then, you'll find yourself somewhere else, most likely with a version of me nearby."

"Version of you?"

A heavy sigh left his chest as he took a seat beside the girl, "The TARDIS can take you to any place you wish to go, throughout space and time." Leo nodded, wary, but not distrusting him just yet. "Humans are not the only species out there. In fact, in terms of time, Earth and all of its human inhabitants are just a little flicker on the scale."

"You speak of humans as if you weren't one."

"I'm not."

With a furrowed brow, "You look human."

"Actually, you look Time Lord." The furrowed brow lifted in confusion. "To explain my species would take too long and you'll learn more about us with time. Basically, we're a binary system species that can live for many centuries, millennia even, so long as we regenerate."

"And what does that mean?"

"Our bodies change, completely. Our personalities change as well. While on the outside, we're completely different people, we still have all of our memories and the same inner core as before. It's just our way of cheating death."

"So by versions of you, you mean…" She trailed off.

"My other regenerations." He said with a nod, confirming her thought.

"How many versions are there, exactly?"

"Before me? Nine. After me? I'm not sure, you can't exactly tell me that."

"Why not?"

The Doctor looked Leo in the eye for the first time since re-boarding the TARDIS, "Leontyne, this is very important that you listen to me when I say this," He waited for her to nod her ascent before speaking each word with a deliberate purpose, "You have to be careful what you tell others, myself, any of my selves, included. It could ruin the future if you try to interfere."

Leo understood the consequences, but she wasn't sure what anything she'd do would be significant enough to change the future. Deciding she was too tired to even question him, Leo nodded.

"Doctor, I'm a bit tired after today. Is there anywhere I could sleep?" She looked to the alien man with a soft expression.

"Of course," he stood, helping her up. "You've got a room here, somewhere- she's always shifting the rooms around, the old girl."

Though the last sentence was muttered, Leo picked up on what he said. "She?"

"Ah, yes, the TARDIS!"

"The TARDIS is a she?" The floor began to hum in response, answering the question in the positive. "She's sentient!" Leo realized.

"She is, and-" The Doctor stopped as they reached a door painted in an ivory color with antiqued gold details on its carvings. "Ah! Thank you, old girl," He muttered, stroking the ships walls, "Here's your room!"

She looked to the Doctor, unsure, but his grin told her everything was alright, and that she should open the door. Inside she found that the room wasn't too different from her old room, just a bit more mature. Instead of obscene shades of yellow, the room was decorated in more muted shades of the color, and balanced with off-white details and aged gold accents. The bed was larger than her childhood one, but still appeared just as comfortable.

"Thank you, Doctor." Leo whispered before quickly adding, "And TARDIS." She hesitantly raised a hand to stroke the ships wall just as the Doctor had, to receive another calming wave from the ship.

As the Doctor turned to leave, Leo could catch him muttering about the ship like her more than himself before he bid her goodnight with an awkward handshake.

Quick to change out of her dress and robe, Leo pulled on a large nightshirt and climbed into the warm bed. Her eyes focused on the replicated picture of her mother before she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

She wasn't quite sure when she woke up. With no windows and no clock, though she was sure that time was probably irrelevant in a time machine, Leo rose to dress for the day.

She took her time showering, allowing the warm water to wash away her worries as she decided to try and make the best of her situation, at least until she figured out a way to get back home, if she could at that.

She applied a modest amount of makeup, just enough to make her skin glow and her eyes shine, before drying her curly man. She pinned the top section back with a red bow before opening the closet, expecting to see her clothing.

Instead, she found a lone dress, pair of underwear, and a pair of white keds. Confused, she took the outfit from the closet and pulled it on. She was surprised that everything fit, and that even the built-in bra in the blue and white striped dress seemed to work for her chest. As she attempted to reach the crisscross ties in the back, she realized it was at the very center of her back, a place where she couldn't reach in this position.

She quickly pulled on her shoes before heading out the door, "Doctor!"

"November the 7th?" The unknown voice rang.

"1987" She wasn't sure, but that did sound a bit like one of his companions.

As she tentatively entered the room, her eyes fell onto a familiar face, "Rose!" She wasn't sure how the girl got here, but she was a bit thankful not to be left alone with the Doctor. She didn't know the man, well, she didn't really know anyone, but it would be a little less awkward with another female aboard.

Said blonde turned to see a young Leo looking at her as if she were a lifeline. Rose's eyes narrowed a bit at her enthusiasm, but she offered a smile anyway, "Hey Leo!"

Leo, now standing before her, turned around and showed her the thin straps on her dress, "Can you tie those for me, please? I can't quite reach them."

Rose muttered a simple yes and tied them together tightly, allowing the dress to hug her from the waist up, before flowing into a loose skirt around her thighs. "Thank you, now, where's the Doctor."

"Right here," the same deep voice from moments ago replied.

When Leo saw the big-eared, blue-eyed man she looked at him in confusion, "You're the Doctor?" Her skepticism leaked from every word.

An expression flashed across the grinning man's eyes that darkened his features, "You're young."

Realization hit her, "This is one of your many faces, isn't it?"

The Doctor's frown fell even more, "You're very young." He pulled one lever, in a dramatic fashion, Leo noticed, and the TARDIS landed, making Rose and Leo stumble a bit. "How long have you known me?" He almost didn't want to know the answer.

"Uh, well, I just met you-well not _you_, per say, but another you and uh, you too," she gestured to Rose. "And you all kind of explained everything to me, but I'm still very confused and am just trying to keep up with everything that's going on."

"Leo," the man approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her, "That hasn't happened for us yet. You cannot reveal anything about the future, alright?"

Leo rolled her eyes at his stern warning, "I know, you, well, older you, I guess, gave me the same speech. I got it, I'll be careful to not reveal things that could change time."

The man nodded, "Good. Now, let's go." He grabbed Leo's hand, something that made her a bit uncomfortable. She looked to Rose for help, but the girl was simply following them, staring at their hands. When Rose noticed Leo's concerned stare, the girl shook her head with a small smile, one that Leo noticed never quite reached her eyes. "Rose," the man gestured, pulling Leo and himself to the side of the door, allowing Rose to exit first.

When she was out, she remained silent, taking everything in. The Doctor tugged a reluctant Leo out of the TARDIS; Donna had explained to that many adventures and a lot of running was in her future with the Doctor, but she didn't really know what to truly expect. From the way she and Martha spoke about the Doctor, he always seemed to find trouble.

She turned to see that the majestic ship she was residing in was actually a police box.

"What?" She asked quietly. "It's bigger on the inside?" Leo hissed to the Doctor who simply smiled in victory.

The two approached a solemn looking Rose.

"It's so weird. The day my father died. I thought it'd be all sort of grim and stormy. It's just an ordinary day." Leo recognized the look on Rose's face. It was the one she wore when she thought about her mother. Reaching over, Leo cautiously grabbed the blonde's hand and squeezed it, offering her sympathies. Rose smiled sadly to Leo as understanding passed between the two.

"The past is another country. 1987's just the Isle of Wright. Are you sure about this?" The Doctor asked, concerned.

Leo's face mirrored his concern; if she was given the option to visit her mother's death day, she wouldn't be sure she would take it. That day was the worst of her life, more so than being ripped from her world, never to be seen again. At least she knew her family and friends were safe in their world, her mother, however, was long gone.

"Yeah," Rose offered a stoic nod.

She led us from Waterley Street, where the TARDIS was parked, to Jordan Road in relative silence. Leo had so many questions, but decided to swallow them down for now. They could wait, Rose needed support right now from friends, and though Leo wasn't yet the Leo that she knew, she would try to be a source of encouragement for the girl.

"This is it. Jordan Road. He was late. He'd been to get a wedding present, a vase. Mum always said, that stupid vase." As a green van comes around the corner, Rose dictates, "He got out of his car and crossed the road. Oh, God. This is it." The Doctor, now on Rose's right, took her hand as she watched a beige car head straight for her father.

Leo was quick to turn her head away as the car came in contact with the man. As the vase broke against the pavement, the Doctor prodded, "Go to him, quick."

Rose didn't move, she couldn't. She was frozen in her spot, paralyzed. The Doctor tried to get her to go once again, but Leo squeezed his hand, silencing him. Leo knew in that moment she wouldn't have the strength to even visit her mother's death day like Rose did. Rose ran from her spot, down a random alley way, and both the Doctor and Leo were quick to follow the girl.

Sirens began to approach where they stood, "It's too late now. By the time the ambulance got there, he was dead. He can't die on his own. Can I try again?" Rose asked, looking absolutely broken.

The Doctor hesitated, and was quick to say no when Leo spoke, "Please Doctor, no one should die alone."

The Doctor looked to Leo and sighed, nodding in resignation. They all quickly ran back to the TARDIS and the Doctor did his little dance around the console, sending them back in time.

They left the TARDIS in a hurry, reaching Jordan Road once again, only to see themselves standing on the corner.

"Right, that's the first us. It's a very bad idea, two sets of us being here at the same time. Just be careful they don't see us. Wait till she runs off and they follow, then go to your dad." The Doctor explained as Pete parked his car.

"Oh, God. This is it." The first Rose exclaimed.

The current Rose turned to the Doctor and Leo, who stood on both sides of her and pleaded, "I can't do this."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to, but this is the last time we can be here." The Doctor spoke gently.

As Pete left his van, the Doctor and Leo were blind-sided when Rose ran from their trio and approached Pete.

"Rose! No!" The Doctor called, automatically grabbing Leo to make her follow as he chased after her.

Rose dashes past her earlier self and pushes her father out of the path of the beige car. The vase rolls away, unbroken, and the earlier Doctor, Rose, and Leo simply vanish.

"I did it. I saved your life." Rose said incredulously.

The man looked a bit shell-shocked, "Blimey, did you see the speed of it? Did you get his number?"

"I really did it. Oh, my God, look at you. You're alive! That car was going to kill you."

"Give me some credit, I did see it coming. I wasn't going to walk under it, was I?" The man's pride was a bit damaged, obviously.

"I'm Rose."

"That's a coincidence. That's my daughter's name."

"That's a great name. Good choice. Well done."

"Right, I'd better shift. I've got a wedding to go to."

"Is that Sarah Clarke's wedding?"

"Yeah, are you going?"

"Yeah."

"You and your friends need a lift?"

Rose nodded enthusiastically at this, thrilled for the opportunity to spend time with her father.

The Doctor was angry, Leo noticed. Beyond angry, livid even. He kept silent though as Rose led them to their home, or his home and young Rose's home, allowing his anger to boil slowly. Leo could practically see the impending argument.

Rose's father led them inside before speaking, "Right, there we go. Sorry about the mess. If you want a cup of tea, the kitchens just down there, milk's in the fridge. Well, it would be, wouldn't it? Where else would you put the milk? Mind you, there's always the window sill outside. I always thought if someone invented a window sill with special compartments, you know, one for milk, one for yogurt, make a lot of money out of that. Sell it to students and things. I should write that down. Anyway, never mind that, excuse me for a minute. Got to go and change." He turned and left the room.

Rose explored the room, feeling a sense of déjà vu as the Doctor stood by the door, his hand clasped tightly around Leo's, not allowing her to move an inch.

Rose lamented, "All the stuff mum kept. His stuff. She kept it all packed away in boxes in the cupboard. She used to show me when she'd had a bit to drink. Here it is, on display. Where it should be. Third prize at the bowling. First two got to go to Didcot. Health drinks. Tonics, mum used to call them. He made his money selling this Vitex stuff. He had all sorts of jobs. He was so clever. Solar power. Mum said he was going to do this. Now he can. Okay, look I'm-"

The Doctor took this moment to finally speak, "When we met, I said travel with me in space. You said no. Then I said time machine."

Leo looked over at Rose with shock, "It wasn't some big plan. I just saw it happening and I thought, I can stop it."

"I did it again. I picked another stupid ape. I should've known. It's not about showing you the universe. It never is. It's about the universe doing something for you." The Doctor nearly growled.

"Doct-" Leo began to berate the man for being so rude when Rose cut her off.

"So it's okay when you go to other times, and you save people's lives, but not when it's me saving my dad?"

"Do-" Leo was once again cut off, though this time, by the Doctor.

She was obviously being ignored, she concluded.

"I know what I'm doing, you don't. Two sets of us being there made that a vulnerable point." The Doctor raged.

Rose was clueless to his point, "But he's alive!"

"My entire planet died. My whole family. Do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?"

Leo's ears perked at this.

_His planet was gone? His whole family, dead? _

He was completely alone, the last of his kind.

In this moment, she saw the similarities of herself and the Doctor. Out of sympathy, she squeezed his hand. He didn't look at her, but he acknowledged her by squeezing her hand back.

Leo began to listen once again, "What, would you rather him dead?" Rose asked in disbelief.

The Doctor defended, "I'm not saying that."

"Rose, things are meant to happen for a reason," Leo soothed. "Sometimes awful things, like losing a parent, b-"

Rose shook Leo off, and looked to the Doctor, "No, I get it! For once, you're not the most important man in my life."

"Let's see how you get on without me, then. Give me the key. The Tardis key. If I'm so insignificant, give it me back." The Doctor held out his free hand.

"All right then, I will." Rose snapped, fishing out a key from her pocket and handing it to him.

"You've got what you wanted, so that's goodbye, then."

"You don't scare me. I know how sad you are. You'll be back in a minute, or you'll hang around outside the TARDIS waiting for me. And I'll make you wait a long time!"

The Doctor ignored her and turned quickly, pulling Leo along with him, as he took long, quick strides leaving the flat. He made sure to slam the door for added drama, and began to stomp to the TARDIS, dragging a struggling Leo with him.

"Doctor." She tried getting his attention for several minutes as she had to practically jog to keep up with his long strides. "Doctor! You know we can't just leave her here!"

He ignored her, wallowing in his own anger as they approached the TARDIS.

The Doctor let go of her momentarily to open the doors when Leo dashed in front of him, effectively pinning herself between the Doctor and the TARDIS.

"No! We cannot leave her! This is not where she belongs!" The Doctor glared at her and pushed the door open but Leo did not move, "You can be angry all you want, but, uh, Doctor?" The Doctor wasn't looking at her anymore, but into the TARDIS itself. "What's wrong?" She asked turning to see the TARDIS was now an empty, tiny box. "Oh," she muttered.

"Rose!" The Doctor yelled, instantly running back to where she was.

"What?" Leo turned to see him already strides ahead of her. She grumbled and took off running, "Doctor! Wait!"


End file.
